THE Insurance Commission (IC) has stopped issuing provisional licenses to insurance agents to protect consumers from fraud.

Only agents with regular licenses may sell policies to the public, Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado said in a circular on Thursday.

“Considering the procedure and evaluation period for the issuance of agents’ licenses under the Enhanced Licensing System, there is no longer a need for these provisional licenses,” he said. “The issuance of this circular letter is also part of the IC’s initiatives on consumer protection.”

Licenses of insurance agents are processed within seven working days based on the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 and issuances by the Anti-Red Tape Authority.

The IC circular said life and nonlife insurers’ applications for an insurance agent’s license must be submitted with the required documents and correct licensing fees so they could be processed.

“We remind the insuring public to only transact with duly licensed insurance agents,” Mr. Regalado said, adding that payment of commissions to unlicensed agents is punishable under another IC circular.

He also urged public to report people without a license who transact or try to do business with them.

The Philippines had 261,422 life insurance and 16,274 nonlife insurance agents with active licenses as of Nov. 21, according to data posted by the commission on its website. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante